a long time coming
by connorc
Summary: A story about peter's realization of his feelings for Carla and their first night together.
1. Chapter 1

She waited for his text. He'd promised he'd always respond to her, whether day or night, come rain or shine. His promises of late seemed more heartfelt, more genuine, and she felt as if something was different this time. It was as if his words represented a sudden change of heart, a raw realisation that this time things would be different. Carla clung onto this new shred of hope that could mean that, just for once, he thought about her as much as she thought about him. He had never actually muttered the words during their first encounter since LA yesterday, but she could tell by the way he looked at her that her absence had brought about a slow-building epiphany.

Their eyes had met through the crowded pub and like a magnet they were transfixed on eachother. He had been counting the days since she left, wondering when she would return whilst battling those alarm bells in his head questioning why he missed her so much and whether she missed him just the same. They had both exchanged an awkward yet heartfelt smile and slyly examined eachothers bodies, both thinking the exact same thought. I need you.

Peter's hands had itched as he contemplated walking over to her and engaging her in small talk about her trip, about her current mental state, but as always his wife Leanne's presence hindered his actions and ability to talk to the woman he loved. He'd slowly grown to resent Leanne, to dislike her bitter words directed at Carla, even after the ordeal she'd suffered in the last couple of months. It was on that day he'd decided he knew what he wanted. He knew now why he'd been so distant towards Leanne, not only could he not forgive her for betraying him with Nick, but he discovered his heart lies with another. Someone who understood him, someone who he could laugh with and be himself with. There was only ever her who could ever understand him.

Now here Carla was, unsure, unknowing as to whether their intimate exchange on the previous day was all in her imagination, or whether it was as evident as she'd hoped that he cared deeply for her. She looked once again at her phone. It had been 15 minutes since she had text him. A simple, coherent "can I see you? X" and now all she could do was wait. She thought that, if deep down he loved her, then he would come to her and he could hold her like she'd longed for. If he didn't reply and he had fobbed her off in fear of Leanne finding out then that was it. She couldn't put herself through it anymore. It was make or break time, something she had slowly become resigned to, because she couldn't pine for him anymore, unrequited love hurt too much.

She sighed deeply as she looked towards the cupboard where various bottles of spirits lay in waiting, having been out of use for a couple of weeks now. She didn't want to revert back to her old ways so impatiently flicked through her phone as a source of distraction. Suddenly there was a loud buzz at her door, and Carla eagerly jumped up, her heart pounding, with a huge grin slowly spreading across her face. She held the phone to her ear and immediately felt the butterflies flutter around her stomach as his husky voice etched through the phone. It was peter.

She pressed the button to let him in, feeling slightly giddy yet nervous, this was better than any text he could have sent her. She bit her nails in anticipation as she heard him jogging up the wooden stairs, she pondered as to what kind of visit this was. The door was left ajar and he slid through it whilst a little breathless with that sexy smile on his face. In that moment none of them spoke. She studied his big brown eyes and even they seemed to be smiling, with his fixed gaze entirely on her, they both stood there with no words uttered. She noticed he was wearing her favourite black blazer, bittersweet how he had once worn this during one of her few rejections from him, yet the expression etched on his face was definitely different this time.

"I didn't think you'd come" she said hesitantly, whilst awkwardly fiddling with her hands, breaking their eye contact by looking at the floor. His smile faltered and he added "i've missed you so much" whilst rushing towards her in an impatient manner grabbing the back of her head and softly thrusting her lips to meet his. She was taken by surprise but this burst of passion was a long time coming, the kiss spoke a thousand words, it were as if their built up feelings were all confirmed in that long passionate kiss. She was touching his face, grabbing at his clothes, she now had the contact with him that she'd longed for, to be held by him and to feel that for now, he was hers.

He stroked her glossy hair whilst pulling her in for a closer embrace, caressing her smooth skin with his other free hand, desperate for her to feel his touch. She could stay like this forever, kissing him whilst being held and feeling loved by the man she'd longed for the best part of a year. He slowly tore his lips apart, whilst breathlessly staring into her eyes, his face inches from hers. "you don't know how long i've wanted to do that again" he chuckled. She giggled like an excitable teenager, "i didn't think we'd ever do it again. But, what is this? It's not...not out of pity is it?" she asked, fearfully dreading the answer he could give that could come crashing down, crushing all her newfound hopes for the future. " Of course not, i would never use you like that. Truth is, I don't know how i've coped without you, you're the only one i want to be with, who understands me, there's no hiding it anymore. I love you".

With this last utterance her eyes welled with tears and she leaned in to passionately kiss him again, running both her hands down his face, then nuzzling her face into his shoulder. She then hugged him out of relief and bewilderment, with him squeezing her tighter so they could feel the warmth of both their bodies against each other. They drew apart and he took her hand in his and kissed it in a gentlemanly manner. She giggled. "Ooh going all chivalrous on me now are you Mr Barlow, well you don't have to resort to such measures to woo me" she swooned. " I may be a punning ex alci Mrs Connor but I know how to treat a classy woman when I see one" he remarked whilst swooping her whole body up in his arms and spinning her round. She laughed hysterically playfully shouting "peter! Put me down!" whilst peter softly laid her down on the sofa and sat next to her, his face beaming, stroking her gorgeous dark hair. She batted her lashes in a flirtatious manner slightly overcome by his playful manner, this side she had never been allowed to see of him before, it would have been too dangerous back then, they both knew going from their harmless banter to close bodily contact would lead to something more. But now here she was, allowed to touch him, gaze at him without being so discreet and most of all be physical with him as she no longer had to feel the sharp sting of rejection. She still couldn't bring herself to approach the question so just moved to allow him to lie with her whilst she snuggled into him, joking, laughing and being intimate with him, but not as intimate as she'd have liked yet.

He showered her with kisses for what felt like a lifetime and then withdrew his lips from hers and went suddenly coy for a moment, lost in thought. "What is it Peter, what you thinking about?". "oh nothing, i just... just wondered if I could stay over tonight, just to be close to you, you know we don't have to do anything else, i just don't wanna leave now when i've wanted to be here with you in your flat, just you and me for so long. She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, " of course you can, i'd love nothing better, it's just..." "what is it Carla?". "Well are you sure you don't mind if we don't do that, we could try it if you want, part of me really wants to, i've imagined it for so long" she said as a cheeky smile passed her lips. Peter flashed her a quick grin and then gave her a loving peck on the lips. "Of course I don't mind, we can take it as slow as you want, after all you've been through with Frank i'm not surprised, as long as i'm here with you i'm happy, it's entirely your decision sweetheart".


	2. Chapter 2

She smirked and breathed a heavy sigh, staring into the distance in a deep daydream whilst weighing up her options. She could either go with her instinct and follow her heart by spending the night with peter, or restrain all her emotions and physical desires in case she wasn't quite ready to open up to anyone sexually so soon after Frank. But this was the problem he wasn't just anyone, he was her soul mate in her eyes and she couldn't think of anyone more perfect that she would want to be so intimate with after her ordeal. That client at the bistro had only touched her knee and she'd freaked out, but here peter was, softly caressing her calf with his face lying next to hers and she couldn't have felt more comfortable if she'd tried. The old feisty Carla would have been cocky of her sexual ability, and would have slinked about in a short silky nightdress to seduce her man for their first physical encounter but not this new reformed Carla. If it was anybody else she would have been nervous as hell, but Peter had seen every side possible to her she felt like he would accept her however the night went, he would take it slow if she asked and she was even sure he'd stop if she didn't feel comfortable.

Carla tugged Peter's blazer gently and in a sultry whisper called his name to see if he was awake. "mmm..yes darling" he said sleepily and slightly dazed. "Peter I don't want you to fall asleep. In fact i want to show you how much you mean to me and...and how much I want you". At the mention of this he turned to face her and softly stroked her temple, removing stray bits of hair away from her face, his big brown eyes seemed to look deep into her, as if he could see into her soul and inflict some sort of hold on her, making her unable to take her eyes off his beautiful face. "you mean...?" she nodded with an innocent yet tempting grin whilst tilting her head and nibbling her bottom lip. "listen love don't you for a second think you have to do this to keep me interested, i aint going anywhere i'm just annoyed with myself for taking so long to figure out how I really feel about you. I won't let you do this if you aren't ready, feeling like I do, I would wait forever for you".

Carla laughed flirtily and wrapped her leg around his, unable to hide her delight at his clear confirmation of how solidified his feelings for her had now become. She gave him a meaningful kiss on the lips and took his hand in hers, using her strength to pull him off the sofa. He had a confused expression on his face and opened his mouth slightly as if to speak, yet no words came out. "listen I know what I want, I trust you completely in every way and need to have you stay with me in my bed tonight. It's not too soon, not when i've been waiting for you for a year now and thought last Christmas I was gonna lose you".

He smiled whilst slowly exhaling and reeling her into his arms. He wrapped both his arms around her slender waist and buried her head into his chest, slowly rocking her in silence for a couple of seconds. He then leaned back and kissed her cheek whilst working his kisses down her face and slowly across her jawbone until he reached her neck. His light kisses became more passionate, moving down more now to her collarbone and shoulder. Carla got lost in the moment, feeling extremely sensual and at ease with peters touch, she slipped off his blazer and discreetly undid the buttons on his shirt, stroking his masculine chest as she went.

His shirt fell to the floor and her tights were now off. Peter spun her round and unzipped her dress ever so slowly, making Carla almost burst with anticipation. A couple of minutes later and Carla was down to her underwear with Peter just in his boxers. They were kissing eachother passionately stroking and exploring eachothers bodies, Carla knew she was ready for this, and what's more, she knew it was going to be good, not just some drunken one night stand or quick fumble like with Frank when they had consensual sex. She stared provocatively with a wanton expression now clear on her face and took Peters hand leading him to the bedroom. Peter gladly followed and marvelled at her perfect shape in almost all its glory, he didn't know how he'd got so lucky. He felt more than comfortable knowing she wanted this as much as he did, with her new restored confidence back, and this unfaltering strong connection between them, he knew this was going to be a good night.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the next morning. Carla and peter lay cuddling under the covers, content and at ease in eachothers arms. Carla had her hand draped across Peter's bare masculine chest whilst tracing his faded tattoo repetitively with her finger. "You know last night was amazing" he said, kissing her forehead. Carla giggled softly "yeah it really was, thank you". "Don't thank me I'm the lucky one, it was exactly how I'd imagined it would be, well only better" said peter shuffling down in the bed so his face was directly at the same height as hers. He laid his left hand on her hip and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Carla's teeth bashed clumsily against Peter's lips as she started giggling lightly, much to Peter's surprise, "eh! What's funny! I'm not that much of a bad kisser am I". Carla smirked and admitted "sorry, i'm just happy that's all, can we stay here all day? And if you get cold you can try of one of my nighties, think you'd look great in them" she teased, tapping him on the nose. "Well I think they'd look better on you, or rather on the bedroom floor" Peter said whilst he playfully tickled her upper thigh causing her to squirm and let out cries of laughter. "Mr Barlow you inappropriate sexy man" Carla squealed, admiring his naked top half as she spoke.

Peter laughed and marvelled at the scene in front of him, a couple of weeks ago he would have done anything to be lying in bed with Carla, teasing eachother playfully admiring her beautiful bare skin next to his, now here he was. She kissed his neck and slipped out of bed wrapping her dressing gown around herself as Peter stared unslyly. "You can ogle all you want Peter but don't miss me too much whilst i'm in the loo" she purred grinning. She made her way through the living room to the toilet, her head repeating the previous night over and over. As she sat on the toilet she reflected again on the nights events, grinning at how perfect it went. She had been a little nervous at first but Peter took his time and built her into it slowly, his touch so warm and loving, not at all menacing and cold like Franks.

She reminisced on how wanted he had made her feel, and how he seemed to know exactly how to pleasure her, as if he could read her mind. He was a total unselfish lover and made her feel worshipped, something she was keen to make him feel today as she felt so much more confident now after their night of passion. Carla flushed the chain and wandered into the kitchen fetching her and Peter a glass of water. She was just about to turn the tap on when a thud echoed from her front door. Carla looked towards the door. She wasn't used to visitors so spun round to check the time on the large grandfather clock in the lounge, noticing that it was 11 'o clock. She recalled a conversation she had with the couple in the flat upstairs who told her to collect their post while they were away and they were due to return from holiday today. Realising it must be them at this hour and not having buzzed she went to open the door. Just as she undid the lock the wooden door flung open and pushed against Carla with an almighty force, revealing an angry looking Leanne behind it.

"Where the hell is my husband Carla? Come on I bet he's here in your lair, you probably slipped rohypnol into his drink last night didn't you you evil bitch" Leanne yelled whilst scanning her flat. Carla looked shocked was annoyed at her own stupidity, of course it was Leanne, it was only a matter of time before she came knocking. "Whatever you've said to make him run away isn't anything to do with me Leanne, just leave he's not here" Carla said sternly, trying to look convincing whilst contemplating whether it was best Leanne found out now to save her from further heartache.

Peter had heard the commotion and Leanne's recognisable whine and jumped out of bed sweeping his clothes off the floor and throwing them in the washing basket. "shit" he whispered to himself, looking for a convincing hiding place. He managed to uncomfortably squash himself at the bottom of the wardrobe surrounded amongst Carla's vast amount of clothes, and quietly he closed the wardrobe waiting for the inevitable moment when Leanne would come storming into the bedroom.

"Leanne...Leanne!" Carla shouted as Leanne stormed into her bedroom, almost knocking the door off its hinges. "Peter" she screeched, her voice was venomous as she was scowered the room for any sign of her husband, on a mission to prove herself right that her husband had strayed to Carla's flat.

Carla followed Leanne into the room and felt relieved when there was no sign of Peter, she realised Peter must have somehow squished himself into her crammed wardrobe and knew he wouldn't be able to stay in there for long. " See do you believe me now Leanne, if you can't trust him then what even is the point eh? Just take your insecurities and your accusations and get out". Leanne glowered at Carla with a poisonous look that could instil fear into the hardest of women. "Don't think this is over Carla, I'm not finished with you yet" Leanne hissed. And with this she stomped out slamming the door loudly as she left. Carla breathed a heavy sigh of relief and went to help Peter out from the wardrobe.


	4. Chapter 4

"Jeese that was close" Peter huffed whilst awkwardly trying to unbend his legs and clamber out of the tiny gap at the bottom of the wardrobe. "Yeah too close for my liking" Carla exclaimed, scratching her head appearing lost deep in thought. "I didn't want this you know Carla, sneaking about hiding from Leanne, I promise i'll tell her, I just didn't want her to find out like this" Peter muttered thoughtfully. Carla sighed and smiled weakly "I know I know, do it when you're ready, but... just please don't leave it too long, I've done the whole other woman thing and despite what people might think, I do not get a kick out of it, I just want to be with you". Peter stared deep into her eyes and draped his arms around her waist pulling her body into his. "Hey missy, know-one thinks you're a home wrecker or anything like that, you can't help it that you're so gorgeous that you can make any man fall in love with you, we'll be together real soon I promise". Carla grinned and pulled him into a close embrace kissing him lovingly whilst ruffling his hair. "Thank you, now you best get back home, if you don't go soon i'm concerned she'll castrate you as a punishment for dodging her calls, and we can't have that now can we" Carla giggled. Peter looked slightly uncomfortable but then smiled a little "definitely not. See you soon then, I love you". "Love you too" Carla replied, watching him walk out of the flat.

Later that afternoon Peter arrived back at his flat and burst through the door anxiously, his story all worked out in his head ready to try to convince Leanne there was a perfect explanation for his absence. She was fuming at first, and fired quickfire questions at him for several minutes growing increasingly frustrated as his explanations made perfect sense. He had said his sponsor was in hospital after suffering a relapse and had no family so decided to stay with him as he didn't think he had long left, an explanation Leanne couldn't argue with, at least not for now until she'd got to the bottom of it.

The next morning things remained the same. The tension hadn't subsided and Leanne was cold and distant, although Peter couldn't blame her and was starting to think leaving her would be easier than he had thought, especially as they obviously didn't seem to work as a couple anymore. "Right Peter i'm going into town shopping so you stay here and look after Simon for once. I'm going to treat myself as nobody else does" Leanne barked coldly. Before Peter could even reply she had slammed the door, so he automatically reached for his phone and text Carla to come round, as he was missing her already even though it had only been one day. He was worried about Simon paying too much of an interest so shoved a long DVD on in his room to keep him occupied knowing full well Carla would only have time to pop round as she was in work meaning Simon wouldn't even have to know Carla was ever here. Carla didn't even text back, she was round the flat in a matter of minutes and rushed into Peter's arms kissing him passionately and breathing heavily, lost in that moment with Peter. It seemed like they hadn't seen eachother for weeks, and they didn't even speak, just held eachother kissing wildly and eagerly. "I need to be with you again tonight Carla" he uttered, breathless from all their prolonged kissing. "Me too, can you get away though?" Carla asked, whilst staring wantonly at him kissing his neck whilst waiting for a reply. Peter nodded grinning then resumed their kissing, unbeknown to him Simon had opened his door ready to head to the kitchen to get a drink and was watching his dad kissing and holding this woman. Simon stood confused and an angry frown appeared on his face. "Dad what are you doing? That's not Leanne" he bellowed with an angry yet upset tone. Carla and Peter quickly broke apart, shocked at this interruption, none of them had even heard him open the door.

"Ok listen Simon, this isn't what it looks like, me and Carla we were just...just messing around no need to be upset little man" Peter said trying to sound calm, whilst stooping to Simon's level trying to persuade him. "I don't believe you, why are you kissing her when you love Mummy? I don't understand" Simon started to sound teary and was getting almost irate, he was old enough to understand the basic rules of relationships and didn't understand who this woman was being close with his dad when he was used to seeing Leanne like that with him. Carla just stood still staring sadly at this little boy, who was now crying. It broke her heart to see the damage she could inflict upon Peter's family and she realised this was only a shred of the heartbreak in store for little Simon. "Peter i'm sorry, i'll go now, whatever happens let me know, I want to be with you but look at the damage we could do, what the hell is gonna happen?" Carla said her voice slightly shrill with her mind racing. Simon had already run back into his room and Peter grabbed Carla's hands in his sensing her nervousness and doubt. "Listen i'll tell her tonight, Simon will come round, he will love you as much as I do and we'll be happy, we both deserve it, there's no point in living a lie anymore".

Carla sighed and looked to the floor, finding it hard to contemplate her life without Peter now. "Ok, i'm sorry about the way everything has turned out but I love you, and if you're sure everything will be ok i'm gonna trust you and we can be happy us three together right?". Peter beamed at her whilst his eyes filled with tears. "Of course we can be happy, trust me don't care what anybody else thinks, we can get far away from here or wherever you want. I don't care as long as i'm with you Carla". Peter placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her softly. "I'll call you when i've done it, see you later" He whispered. Carla then left the flat hurriedly to return to work and Peter spun round and looked towards Simon's room, hoping he would be the one to tell Leanne the bad news before Simon blurted it out.


	5. Chapter 5

Peter decided the best thing to do would be to leave Simon at his Dad's house tonight so he could tell Leanne himself about him and Carla, so he slowly explained to Simon that he was sorry and that everything was going to be ok. Simon was unresponsive and hadn't said a word all that afternoon, so Peter dropped him off at his Dads hoping he wouldn't tell Ken and Deidre anything before he got the chance to explain himself. Peter lit up a cigarette and exhaled deeply as he leant against the wall outside the bookies. He then set off walking away from the street, determined to clear his head and think about exactly what he would say to Leanne, and how he could break the bad news to her as kindly as possible.

Meanwhile Leanne had returned back to the street after only 2 hours shopping, she wasn't in the mood to spend lots that day and it had failed to lighten her mood so she headed for Deidre's to ask her what she thought Ken would want for Christmas. Leanne knocked on the door and Deidre keenly let her in, but sensed something was up. "You ok love?" "Erm not too bad, just a bit tired really" Leanne replied, not wanting to share her and Peter's problems today. "Well Simon's just upstairs if you want to go and see him, he's in a terrible mood though and has shut himself in the spare room, think he hasn't got his own way with Peter or something" Deidre giggled, walking into the living room. Leanne looked curious and headed upstairs to see if she could find out what was wrong with Simon, finding it odd that he wasn't with Peter.

She opened the door to the spare room and Simon smiled slightly whilst running towards Leanne with his arms wide open shouting "Mummy, Mummy!" and Leanne crouched down and hugged him tightly. "Hey you, what's the matter, have you been crying Simon?" she asked concernedly. "Mummy I don't understand, Daddy says it was a joke but I saw him kissing a lady with black hair today and I don't want you and Daddy to split up again" Simon whimpered, burying his face into Leanne's shoulder. Leanne froze, her heart beating like a drum with a sickening sinking feeling bubbling in her stomach. She sat there with Simon for a few minutes contemplating what Simon had said, her mind racing, it was now confirmed that Peter had been with Carla last night and all she could feel was the anger and hatred for this woman exploding through her veins. She wasn't going to let Carla win this time, she felt a plan forming at the back of her mind, and knew that somehow she had to try to get Carla out of the picture. "SSShh Simon it's ok, they were just playing about I know they were only joking me and Daddy are fine we aren't going to be splitting up don't worry" Leanne whispered whilst stroking his head. "really!" Simon said perkily, wiping his eyes. "No of course not, but everything's only going to be ok if you don't tell your Daddy that you've told me and that we forget about the whole thing and carry on like before ok, if you do that we'll go to the safari park at the weekend" Leanne said, trying to sound enthusiastic even though she was full of anger and hatred for that woman.

Simon smiled now and headed to the corner to play with his toys, his mood rapidly changing whilst Leanne stayed sat on the floor thinking deeply about how and when she should act. She knew Peter had been there for Carla for the best part of a year now so had a terrible feeling this wasn't just a fling, deep down she knew he must have loved her. Leanne bit her nails and had to accept the possibility that Peter could leave her for Carla any day now, as their relationship was deteriorating rapidly, so decided to act quickly, in fact she knew it had to be tonight. She reached for her phone and hovered over the number of an ex-client of hers from her escourt days, knowing he owed her a favour since she had lied to his wife a while ago. He was the co-founder of a large Pharmaceutical Company and she rung him and he agreed to her request, having no other choice as Leanne threatened he either help her or she would tell his wife everything.

Leanne composed herself and after leaving Deidre's headed over to the factory. Her palms were sweaty and she had to try to refrain herself from slapping Carla across the face and swallow her pride so she could trick Carla into believing she believed her about the other night and wanted to make up. Carla nervously glanced at the door then down to the floor when she saw Leanne. Did she know what had happened? Had Peter already told her? Her thoughts were interrupted when Leanne made her way into the office with a weak smile plastered across her face. "Listen Carla I just want to apologise about the other night, it was wrong of me to accuse you i've been so stupid, me and Peter are just having problems at the moment. The truth is, I just wanted someone to blame, can you forgive me?" Leanne announced quietly, her acting was almost flawless as she appeared guilty and vulnerable when inside she was screaming with rage and plotting evilly.

Carla avoided eye contact with her and felt a huge surge of guilt shoot through her, it should have been her apologising not Leanne. "Listen it's ok Leanne, i just want to forget about it, we're fine" she said hastily, wanting to get rid of Leanne as soon as she could. "Great well, I do miss our times together and it would mean a lot to me if you would join me for a drink tonight at the Rovers tonight about 6?. "Oh Leanne I don't think I can I.."- "Ohh come on please it would mean a lot to me and you can't say we didn't used to have a laugh right? I'll see you there then, don't be late or i'll hunt you down" Leanne said casually whilst already walking off, leaving Carla no chance to argue, so she faced the fact she was going to have to meet her later.

Carla got back to work dreading their drink later but told herself she would only be there for about half an hour and would only have the one drink, as she knew she would find Leanne's company painful after what she was doing behind her back with Peter. By now Leanne was with her ex-client, he handed over what she had asked for and made him meet her later as she wasn't finished with him yet. Leanne went to the pub to wait a while for Carla and avoided Peter's texts and calls as she knew she couldn't have her plan foiled by him admitting his affair.


	6. Chapter 6

It was 6 'o clock and Carla walked gingerly into the pub spotting Leanne almost instantly. Carla hadn't spoke to Peter since she saw him this morning as she had been snowed under with work, but decided she would text him after her drink with Leanne, and maybe request him to leave it a little while before he told Leanne the truth. Leanne smiled fakely and was sitting in the corner with two glasses of red wine, having already bought Carla's drink for her. Little did Carla know her drink had been laced with Rohypnol the date rape drug, and Carla went to join her, feeling highly awkward but gave her nicest smile and they engaged themselves in conversation.

An hour had passed and Carla's head had started to feel fuzzy, it was like she was in a daze yet she'd only had one glass of wine. She excused herself as she went to the toilet, staring lazily into the mirror looking dizzily at the blurred reflection staring back at her in the mirror. She couldn't believe she felt so drunk so soon, and decided she would head back home straight away. She stumbled back to the table and slurred repeatedly, trying to get her words out to tell Leanne she had to go. She could only make out a slight smile on Leanne's face, as she felt herself being dragged out of the pub and ushered into a car, although she was totally powerless now as none of her muscles seemed to work.

Leanne and her ex-client carried Carla back to her flat and Leanne took Carla's phone out of her bag and put it in her own. The male found himself awkwardly sitting in Carla's flat on the sofa whilst Leanne undressed Carla into one of Carla's many slinky nighties, then put her into bed. Carla was powerless and passed out by now, totally unaware of what was going on. Leanne decided to set the scene to frame Carla so placed an empty condom wrapper on the floor and made her ex-client sleep in Carla's bed tonight with an unaware Carla, he was apprehensive but knew his reputation, business and marriage was at stake if he didn't do as he was told, although he felt sorry for this poor woman lying next to him. Leanne then placed two wine glasses by the bed to make it look like she had been drinking, and just as she was about to leave she text Peter off Carla's phone and it read 'come round to mine I have something to show you x'. With this Leanne left Carla's phone on the side and scarpered hurriedly whilst leaving the door to Carla's flat slightly ajar. She beamed at how perfect her plan had gone so far and made her way back to her flat cautiously hoping she wouldn't bump into Peter.

Peter's eyes lit up as he saw the text off Carla, he didn't need telling twice as he was so excited to see her so immediately made his way round to Carla's. Leanne arrived back home relieved that she hadn't bumped into Peter on the way and treated herself to a glass of wine after the busy day she'd had. She didn't know she'd had it in her, but kept telling herself Carla deserved this as this wasn't the first marriage she'd ruined. She even felt Carla's rape was comeuppance for her past behaviour, but this was the icing on the cake for Leanne and she knew once Peter caught Carla in bed with another man he wouldn't be able to trust her again. She also knew Peter would then realise he would have to put Simon first and they could start rebuilding their marriage and move away from Coronation Street. They'd move far away to the remote countryside to somewhere like Cornwall, then they'd get IVF and start a family of their own and live without any interference.


End file.
